person
Gaius Coelius Caldus
Coelius Caldus
also: C. Coelius L.f. C.n. Caldus, Caldus, quaestorem Coelium, Coelius the quaestor
Quaestor assigned by lot to Cicero in Cilicia, 50 BC, and left in charge of the province (as a young man of noble family) when Cicero departed in summer 50 BC. Grandson of the consul of 94 BC; distinct from person:c-caelius-caldus-cos94 and the veto-tribune person:c-caelius-tr50.
Reading notes
- Ad Atticum 6.2 §10 C. Caelius the quaestor
C. Coelius Caldus, the quaestor allotted to Cicero's province for 50 BC; a young noble whom Cicero, not yet having met him, would shortly be forced to consider leaving in charge of Cilicia.
- Ad Atticum 6.5 §3 the quaestor Caldus
C. Coelius Caldus, the quaestor assigned to Cicero by lot; a governor could leave his province in his quaestor's charge, and Cicero is waiting to see whether Caldus will arrive in time to be installed.
- Ad Atticum 6.6 §3 I have put Coelius in charge of the province
On leaving, a governor entrusted his province to a deputy; Cicero chose his young quaestor Coelius Caldus over a senior legate or his own brother Quintus, since outranking a quaestor of noble birth would have been an insult to him.
- Ad Familiares 2.15 §4 I have set the quaestor, Coelius, in charge of it
Roman governors departing a province were obliged to leave a senior officer in command; the quaestor was the normal choice when no legate of higher standing was available. Cicero's self-deprecating framing ('A boy?') pre-empts exactly the criticism he anticipated.